Boston COVID-19 Press Conference October 13

Mayor Martin J. Walsh held a press briefing on October 13, 2020. We'd like to share some information from that briefing with the Cambridge College community.

Case numbers

• As of today (Tuesday) in Massachusetts: 632 new confirmed cases, for a total of 137,565 confirmed cases. There were 12 new deaths, for a total of 9,413.
• As of today (Tuesday) in Boston: 139 new cases, for a total of 18,275. There were no new deaths, and the total remains at 768. 

Update on COVID-19 data

• The Mayor said that for the week ending October 5, Boston continued to experience the somewhat elevated rate of coronavirus activity that we’ve seen for the past several weeks.
• Positive tests went down, from about 73 new cases per day to 69 per day. But testing was down slightly as well, with roughly 1,725 Boston residents tested each day. Thus, the positive test rate remained at 4.1%. 
• Among neighborhoods, the 02121/02125 zip codes of Dorchester had the highest positive test rate, followed by Hyde Park. The rate in East Boston went down again, to 6.5%. The remaining neighborhoods with rates above the citywide average were Dorchester 02122/02124, Roxbury, and South Boston. Young adults and Latino communities continue to see the highest new case numbers. 
• The City continues to focus on multilingual outreach and expanded testing and health care access in these communities and across the city. 

New testing resources

• The Mayor announced that the City has created a second mobile testing team. The first team is a partnership with East Boston Neighborhood Health Center and will be located in Central Square, East Boston, through October 24. The new team is a partnership with Whittier Street Health Center, and is located in Nubian Square, Roxbury, through October 24. 
• In addition, CVS began testing at two new sites this past Friday, in neighborhoods with elevated rates. They are now testing at pharmacies on Saratoga St. in East Boston and Gallivan Boulevard in Dorchester, bringing their citywide total to six locations. 
• In all, there are currently 29 active testing sites across Boston. You can find them on our map of testing sites at boston.gov/coronavirus.  
• The Mayor pledged that the City will continue to monitor and share data, work closely with public health experts and the medical community, and bring resources and information to where it is needed. 
• He urged residents to do their part, by continuing to take all the precautions necessary to stay healthy and slow the spread of the virus: wear a mask, wash your hands, keep six feet from others, avoid parties and large gatherings -- and get your flu shot as soon as possible. 

Update on preventing evictions and supporting tenants and homeowners

• The Mayor noted that the statewide moratorium on evictions and foreclosures expires on October 17, this coming Saturday. 
• He described eviction as a racial justice issue, because evictions hit communities of color the hardest, especially harming women of color and their children. It’s also a serious public health issue, he added, because housing instability will create conditions where the virus can more easily spread.
• The Mayor summarized the tools and resources the City has developed to help tenants. 
  • 46,000 at-risk households have been mailed information to let them know their rights. Those are arriving in mailboxes this week.
  • The Mayor filed an ordinance at the City Council to require landlords to provide information about a tenant’s rights and resources. There is a hearing tomorrow (Wednesday) and he urged the Council to pass it before the moratorium lifts.
  • We are reopening our Rental Relief Fund, which has already helped 1,000 families pay their rent. That support goes directly to landlords, and the Mayor encouraged them to look into it for their tenants. New applications will be available on October 19. 
  • We also have a Housing Stability Pledge. More than 30 large landlords have signed an agreement to avoid evictions.
  • We are working with the State, to make sure that the new resources announced yesterday reach Boston tenants and property owners.
  • We also have programs and resources for homeowners that can help many small landlords. The Mayor encouraged homeowners to reach out to the Boston Home Center if they have questions.
• The Mayor said the most important thing for renters to understand right now is that the CDC has a national moratorium in place until the end of the year. Tenants need to fill out a form, and give a signed copy to their landlord, to receive that protection, and the City stands ready to help them do that. You can download the form at boston.gov/HousingStability, and you can call 3-1-1 or call our Office of Housing Stability directly for help.